I enjoyed reading the poem “Nikki-Rosa” by Nikki Giovanni. This was a short poem but it was delivered with usual marks of poetry through punctuation and capitalization. The narrator in the poem spoke directly to her audience. The title of the poem suggested the blending of the personal life with the public or political one. This poem also shows the development of an activist, from a girl Nikki to the revolutionary Rosa. The name Rosa refers to Rosa Parks, a Civil Rights activist. The poem is about a mature black woman who is recalling on her childhood. She recognizes that not many people understand the poverty in which she lived in and that it did not worry or bother her. There is no common rhyme in this poem. This poem is more of an ongoing thought of something that has been building up inside of her for years. Through this poem she is able to breathe and get every last word out before she loses it. This poem has an emotional style to it. The poem is written into shorter and longer sentences that make it have a soft style to it. She did an amazing job in letting the readers see another side of being poor and a minority. Living in poverty is not an overwhelming hardship but that it is full of plenty of happiness. If a person will look anywhere long enough then they will be capable of seeing that beauty. This poem displays how a white person cannot understand her true happiness. The speaker feels that white people see black children as unhappy, uneducated, and deprived of chances in life due to a lack of money and material possessions. She shows her readers that family is more important than money. In this poem the speaker challenges society’s assumptions that poverty equals unhappiness when she states her life to be rich with memories and love. Money cannot purchase memories and love. My mom also told me that “Money cannot buy happiness.” After reading this poem, I can see the statement that my mom made is very true. Family is what makes happiness.
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